The Republican journal., 1887-04-21
Correspondence of the .Journal.)

Correspondence of the .]ournal.)
Gr.p,LAJrRA. MEN. April. 1857. The cx-
trcmc poli;cncss of these gentle .Ncricnn0s
is sometimes but Il short remove from the
ridiculous; and though their manners are
Kindness personiIicd. it frequently strikes us
hat Spanish compliments are It's tirc>omc lis
absurd.
For example, in making Il social visit When
la lies appear at the door Of the sal" DE
re 'jbe (rccrrlion room)-haiiig been admit
IL, thus far by the porter who sits at gate of
the c0S't-rhc hostess runs to receive them. a>
fa>i =, her high heels will allow. Mexican
ladi lave an air of great dignity and perfect
rel,e >o II features, when they -it. and are seen
to b II advantage in their carriages or theatre
box OF on their sofas at honc. On foot,
how Yer, they >inipy wohh!c, and when in
ha>t their ungraccftllne>- Of gait is of course
int, n-itic,l. This is 10 doubt largely due TO the
far thH; they Wcai heels ab>nrllA high. placed
most il, the center Of the foot. and always
inset upon wearing" a shoe at least an inch too
short for the foot.
She embraces each Of her visitors in turn.
after curious fashion that took lis long 10
iearii-lot by an Americans kiss. or French
mans hearty hi4; but each OF the elabrGSecs
if one Iliay be allowed to coin Il word for the
occasion) puts her right hand upon the others
shoulder. her left hand near the others heart,
and leaning forward OH her toes. just lays her
cheek for an instant alongside the others neck.
1t looks cordial. TO say the least of ii. but be-
ginner> are sure to make bad work al first. !.
bobhing their heads to the wrong side and
humping Que anotlcr's noses.
After this ceremony has been strictly attend
ed to all around--for neglcctin. to embrace one
OF the callers would be equivalent to giving her
the worst kind OF "ctit dircct'-thc mistress
of the nianse leads the way across the Suiu to
the square of carpet at the farther end. which
is always bounded on three sides by the sofa
against the wall aid two rows of chairs placed
ris-d-tis. But before sitting down another
ceremony must be gone through with de NJ
gueHf.
Says the hostess. Pray be seated, ladies'"
seal yourself. sonora" is the response
NO. no. pdsse j." She rcplies-;tId they
keep it up indefinitely. until it begins to look rs
thou III they never would sit down. Finally the
deadlock i, broken by the oldest or most con-
air of Ciisnilied humility remarks - I-0yF! Well
to obligc you. without further ceremony; 1
dislike compliments"
The lady who is considered of most co!l.c-
quence. either by reason of age or social posi-
ton, is invariably seated on the right hani
y ~ tiTl VI INT Sblt-.l POINT III tllItltltt Cl
grea1 imroriance-and the mistress OF the ca>;,
on the farttest chair. Then the following
dialogue takes place, with never The slightest
variation:
"IEow is your health. Senorita, Are you
Wells
AT your service, Senorita and yourstlf:"
''>in novedad (without novelty; at your
service
Il am rrioived. And how are YOU Semorita:"
AT your disposal. And yoursell:"
"W Gf0ci"s; Ga thousand thanks at your
service
After The entire round ha> been made of
these polite enquiries and replies, they begin
over again. And the Senor, your husband,
how is lIe:''
..Mil gracias. at ytur disposal, without
novelty etc.. otc.. though the @amut of all
their relatives. from the grandmolhcr> down
to the babies. This takes some time. and if
early in the morning there is the additional
question. which must be put to every one
whom YOU meet before midday. '.Coia0 p0ssp
J.. IL nocae/'-IIow did You pass the night );
TO be invariably answered, whether we'll or i'll,
by the ott-reieated. "A Thousand thanks; at
your service; and your>elf?'
All these empty compliments are merely
tokens Of good will. without serious meaning
in them. and in fact there is little real etiquette
here but the most perfect tutSSe. Hftef i'll the
world. A> everywhere else. even in Mexico
where the temperature scarcely varies ten de-
Slf'N III 'pui ~ VI Wal tllt NtdlitI ttilolUS
legitimate topic of conversation The slightest
change in the degree of heat or cold opens the
battery. and the occasional surprise of dull
skies or signs of rain is a perfect bonanza in
that direction.
The visit over, the ladies le-cmbracc all
around. the lady of the house follows her
GUESTS to the outer door, and again Il thousand
compliments are given and returned. Each
refuses to ''passe w ahead of the others-and
after sever; minutes the friendly strife is at
last ended as before by the oldest lady who
says "I'ayd, to ohligc you.'
Once outside they turn again. ;l1d each re-
marks to the hostess 'Scnoi;s. YOU know that
my poor house and ali in it are at your dis
pos;i''
''Mil "rarias. Sonora she replies, .'and mine
is 1T yours: and though useless. know me for
your servant and command lne in ANYTHING
yo,. may desire.
Adia>. Sonora, ! hope yolI may pass GOOD
night" the first responds. etc.. etc. ~l iMfnd-
tnM. And then the, all trail of to another
house anI repeat precisely the same perform
anrr. At first We found all this va>!;y anus
Ing: but ! must confess tha! III course Of
months. repeated on an average of twenty
tiine> Il day. it has grown somewhat monoto-
nous.
A. III the Orient. he gentlemen also eil!-
brace when they meet. and often actually hug
each ether. \ not unpleasant sight is ii to see
two iu>iy fellows giving one another Il hearty
they may ic carving each other with their still
cttoS.
In Mexico all ladies address one another, and
are usually addressed by gentlemen. by their
given names. 1t is at first rather startling to :,
stranger to he SO familiarly spoken to by those
whom one has seen but once or twicc--bIit
things must be taken they are meant, and
no undue familiarity being intended, none
should be imagined. TO take offence would
lie to initiate the Italian mentioned by Lady
Be>>in@ton, who though he had made Il con-
quest OF Il fair Englishw0man, though somewhat
shocked hy her forwardness, because in an in.
different note TO him She had signed herself
''vours trniy."
As there i, no W in their vocabulary, the
MeNicans lind my last name impossible to pro-
nounce; and after few struggles with doubl
N-makin@ il something like Y Tuhrr6dh-l
have been quite willing to concede the point
and answer TO Francesca. Ponchita. or what.
ever else they choose to call me.
Foreigners here are apt TO complain bitcrl,
Of what they consider Mexican iESinceri;y-
but the fault is chiefly on the part of the for
eigners themselves for attaching too much inn
portance to the common phrase "Esi0 Il 81
djsposicion de " it is at your disposal. The
words are as generally used here AS 81 am hap
| pv to see YOU II shall be happy to come.
| etc. at home, when--likc rs not--quite the re
| verse is true. Here everything is placed ''a
your diSposal''-house. horses, carriages, ser
| and all their -tguratyely speaking
only. If you admire your hostess gown-'I
| is perfectly at your service She instantly re
| plies: picture. Il chil,l'S trinkcl a gcntlenan
| diamond. dito.
Mr.. Fred Obcr relates how, when lie cam,
here first, an exceedingly bashful Young bachc
| lor-these profiiSe offers embarrassed him con
| >derahly. Riding beside his guide soon afte
| landing. he happened to express admiration fo
| the horse the latter rode and inquired if ii wa
| his own. Isl. Senor.' replied the man, IAN,
yours also.
lie Nenturcu but one more question that day
| hours later in the house Of the WHrhuchu VIII,
| prepared their supper. when he thoughilcssl
| asked the guide if she was his sweetheart
Yes, my friend (Hme-o mio) he answered
land yours also" That >ilenced him for Ion:
| time: until one day, chancing to see mcr,
| child. with beautiful oval face and large darI
eyes. who could not have been more than four
teen years old - aileetionately tending Il baby
| he asked in surprise if it was hers. Isl
Senor," came the ready reply, land your
! also.''
Upon receiving Il letter from 4 Mexican
| friend you are perhaps puzzled to see it hcade,
| he In cuSa de y ''from voiir house," I'M
| til you remember the universal cDstumLrc
Some foreigners from ignorance of the customs
| and others from pure knavcry. take advanta"
| of these meaningless expressions of cvility
much TO the confusion and surprise of the lu
| lite ot1ercr. who has no more thought of bcin
| taken at his word than have YOU, dear reader
| when you sign yourself the ''humblc servant
| of some great bore.
Nine. Calderon took sensible view of tn
| case when she remarked: ''If all these offers 0
service in which it is Mexican etiquette to in
dul.e. would be believed i.-such ''Kemem
| ber am here but to serve yOu;'' ''comnan
| me in all thiuUH ~ s.mv holISp and pypryfhiuV i